December 30, 2003, 12:00 a.m.
Death of a Fantasy
Everything Saddam Hussein built up, in utter collapse.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This article appears in the December 31, 2003, issue of National Review.

The capture of Saddam Hussein draws a line under Operation Free Iraq. It is now possible to concentrate on the task of building the country's future, and discovering whether democracy will take hold in the Arab Middle East, and if so, how and in what form.

More than a distraction, as long as Saddam was at liberty he represented the alternative of absolute power, as well as a symbol of defiance. Here was a figurehead around whom those Muslims who hate the United States and its allies could rally. Islamists, Iraqi nationalists, and their supporters on the international left ardently believed that while he was in hiding he was also directing a glorious resistance movement. Swirling around him was the glamour of the outlaw.
YOU CAN READ THE REST OF THIS ARTICLE IN THE CURRENT ISSUE OF THE NEW DIGITAL VERSION OF NATIONAL REVIEW. IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A SUBSCRIPTION TO NR DIGITAL OR NATIONAL REVIEW, YOU CAN SIGN UP FOR A SUBSCRIPTION TO NATIONAL REVIEW here OR NATIONAL REVIEW DIGITAL here (a subscription to NR includes Digital access).

*   *   *

YOU’RE NOT A SUBSCRIBER TO NATIONAL REVIEW? Sign up right now! It’s easy: Subscribe to National Review here, or to the digital version of the magazine here. You can even order a subscription as a gift: print or digital!